Poverty Amidst Plenty
In our nation, one of the richest in the world, one in every eight people — about 40 million total — live in poverty. Forty million is an enormous number of people who have trouble meeting their basic needs of food, shelter and health care. And, research consistently shows that, on average, families need an income of about twice the federal poverty level to meet their most basic needs. To put it into perspective, consider that 40 million is the combined population of the states in orange on the map below.
Poverty Trends
Poverty rates declined during most of the 1990s, but they have risen significantly since 2000. In fact, almost 6 million more Americans are poor today than in 2000. The percentage of people in poverty fell by more than half from 1959-1973, and it is now higher than at any time since 1959.
Who are the poor?
The answers may surprise you. Let's look at this question from two perspectives — age and race.
Age
The chart below shows the trends in poverty when viewed according to age. Note that the elderly, represented by the dark blue line, had the highest poverty rates in 1966 until the rates dropped dramatically, primarily because of the Social Security Program.
Source: U.S. Census
A second important trend is in poverty among children, represented by the brown line. The rate increased gradually until the early 1990s, then declined significantly until 2000, when the rate started to rise again. Perhaps the most disturbing message of this chart is that our nation tolerates a situation in which children are the most likely of all the age groups to be poor. To make matters worse, children have been receiving less assistance from the federal government while the rates of poverty have increased, as the following chart indicates. This assistance came primarily from the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program before 1996 and from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program since 1996.
Race
If we look at who is poor by race, we see that white people are the largest group of the poor, as indicated by the following chart.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
While white people make up the largest single group among the poor, it is also true that in relative terms, whites are the least likely of the various racial groups to live in poverty. Indeed, African Americans, Hispanic Americans and Native Americans suffer from poverty at roughly three times the rate of whites, as demonstrated in the following chart:
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Be sure to check out the Poverty FAQ to get a fuller picture of poverty in the United States.
